Panels probing mysterious death of Iran affair figure
Death of Iranian arms dealer questioned
The 47-year-old Hashemi died on July 21, three months before the U.S. arms- for-hostages deal with Iran was disclosed. The death was officially attributed to a rare and virulent form of leukemia diagnosed only two days before Hashemi died.
A U.S. government informant who worked with the arms dealer said that Customs Service officials told him Hashemi may have been ″bumped off″ to protect the secrecy of the Iran initiative, the Times’ sources said.
Hashemi’s relatives suspect foul play.
″Medically, we had no reason whatsoever before he is dead to believe that there was anything wrong with him. Absolutely nothing,″ said Hashemi’s brother, Mohammed Ali Hashemi. ″A person has been killed.″
Hashemi died in London last July 21, and the results of an autopsy ordered by Scotland Yard have not been released. Relatives think he may have been killed, but U.S. authorities have said he died of ''apparently natural causes.''
At the time of his death, he was scheduled to be a key U.S. government witness in trials stemming from an alleged scheme to ship $2 billion worth of American weapons to Iran through Israel. Among the defendants in the case are a retired Israeli general and three other Israelis.
Other Iran-Contra linked figures who died in 1986: